Sustainable growth
Supply chain and diversity
In 2025, we invested approximately $1 billion with suppliers to support our utility operations and better serve our customers. Of that spend, 29% was with businesses located within our eight-state service territory, reinforcing our commitment to the communities we serve. We also remain dedicated to fostering an inclusive supply chain. In 2025, spending with small businesses, as well as women- and minority-owned suppliers, represented 12% of our total procurement.
We're committed to safety and ethical business practices. These fundamental values guide how we make decisions today and for the future. We expect our suppliers of goods and services to adhere to these fundamental values and apply them to how they do business.
Our Supplier Code of Conduct describes our expectations in more detail.
Direct economic impact
Our social impact adds economic value within our local communities. We play a critical role providing jobs and benefits to our employees, by paying taxes, community giving and purchasing goods and services to maintain and upgrade our vast network of electric and natural gas system infrastructure. In 2025, our direct economic impact was estimated at $1.65 billion.
Financial performance
In 2025, we delivered another strong year for Black Hills Corporation through the focused strategic execution by our team. We achieved strong results for our stakeholders, reflected in our operational excellence, regulatory outcomes, and infrastructure investments, positioning us for continued success in serving our customers and communities safely and reliably.
We successfully served the core needs of our customers for safe, reliable, cost-effective service during the year. Our longstanding legacy of customer-focused innovation and investments continued to advance our reputation as the energy partner of choice.
We delivered on our financial commitments, achieving the midpoint of our earnings guidance with adjusted earnings per share of $4.10, excluding merger-related costs, an increase of 5% over 2024. New rates and rider recovery, along with ongoing customer growth, reflected our customer-focused investments and regulatory progress.
The success of our financing strategy supported our solid investment-grade credit ratings and healthy balance sheet, which provide a strong foundation for strategic growth. We issued $220 million of equity under our at-the-market program and refinanced $300 million of debt that matured in early 2026.
We have paid a dividend to our shareholders for 83 consecutive years, and in 2025 we extended our industry-leading track record of increasing our dividend to 55 consecutive years. Our consistent dividend practices demonstrate our confidence in the strength and stability of our business and strategy.
Infrastructure and resilience investments
During 2025, we invested approximately $900 million of capital with safety, reliability and affordability top of mind. We enhanced our wildfire mitigation plan, including establishing an Emergency Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS) program for our electric utilities. In South Dakota, we began construction on our Lange II 99-megawatt natural gas-fired generation facility to modernize and replace aging resources and comply with updated system reserve margin needs.
The strategic expansion and modernization of our energy systems will more effectively and efficiently serve the needs of our customers both today and in the future. Our Ready Wyoming electric transmission expansion is a prime example of our strategy in action. In just three years, our team constructed and energized this 260-mile transmission project, which interconnected our electric systems in Wyoming and South Dakota.
Although large electric infrastructure projects stole the spotlight across the utility industry during the year, natural gas remains a critical and enduring component of a strong energy future. We continued to invest across our natural gas footprint, prioritizing safety and system integrity, supporting the connection of new customers, and enabling growth in the communities in which we live and operate.